Intense cold conditions continued unabated in the northern region disrupting transport services on Wednesday as mercury dropped by several notches and fog enveloped most parts, causing poor visibility and resulting in death of 10 people in road accidents.
Winter chill prevailed in the Capital, recording below normal maximum temperature at 15.9 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature of five degrees Celsius.
The movement of about 70 trains to and from the city was affected on Wednesday morning and several flights were also delayed due to poor visibility, which was recorded 600 meters at 5-30 a.m. and 500 meters at 11-30 a.m., 2-30 p.m. and 5-30 p.m.
Chandigarh recorded the season’s coldest night at 3.2 degrees C as severe chill swept the city with fog affecting normal life at many places in Punjab and Haryana.
Cold waves swept Hisar in Haryana as the minimum temperature settled at 6.7 degrees C, while Ambala recorded a low of 4.8 degrees C, Karnal at 4.7 degrees C, and Narnaul at 4 degrees C.
In Punjab, the minimum temperature in Amritsar settled at 4 degrees C, while Ludhiana recorded 6.6 degrees C.
The Kashmir Valley, which is going through the harshest ‘Chillai Kalan’ period, saw mercury drop to freezing low including at Ladakh region, with twin towns of Leh and Kargil recording the State’s lowest temperature of minus 10 degrees C.
Icy winds accompanied with dense fog threw normal life out of gear in Rajasthan where at least 28 trains were running behind the schedule.
A NWR spokesperson said that 28 trains were running late in the State from 20 minutes to 15 hours. Six trains were rescheduled, one Sriganganagar-Jammu Tawi train was cancelled and two trains were partially cancelled.
Road transport was also hit in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh due to fog.
Sikar in the State was the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 2.5 degree C while Mount Abu on hills recorded a minimum temperature of 4 degree C.
Eight persons were killed when a minibus in which they were returning from Vrindavan to Midhakur town, about 15 km from Agra, collided head-on with a tractor on Tuesday night near Runkuta town of Agra district.
The mishap also occurred because of poor visibility caused by fog, the police said.
The impact was so severe that the minibus containing a total of 19 people turned turtle thrice before stopping and was broken into two pieces, they added. - PTI
